Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Vegetables

Kimchi Pancake (Kimchi Jeon)

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To Prep
In a bowl add plain flour, tempura mix and corn flour. Add water and mix well. Batter should have a thin pancake batter consistency.
Add kimchi, onions, green onions and chilli slices to the batter and mix well.
Mix all the dipping sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

To Cook
Heat a non-stick frying pan to medium heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Add 1/3 batter mixture to the pan and shape into a round circle.
Panfry pancakes for 2-3 minutes or until the bottom edges are crisp. Turn the pancake over and cook for another 2 minutes or until the other side is crisp.
Set aside onto a kitchen paper lined plate and repeat pan frying to make more pancakes.
Cut pancakes up for individual servings. Serve jeon (pancakes) with dipping sauce.

Gado Gado with Indonesian Peanut Sauce

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To Make Indonesian Peanut Sauce
Heat oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the fish sauce, coconut milk, water, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar and chili. Stir well to combine and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer uncovered for 8-10 mins until the sauce reaches a creamy consistency, stirring regularly.
Add the lime juice and stir to combine. Pour into a ramekin and set aside.

To Make Gado Gado
In a pan, heat a little bit of oil and fry tofu until crispy and golden. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl, arrange the red onion, cucumber, carrots, wombok, bean shoots and green beans. Place alongside the tofu and hard-boiled eggs.
Garnish with coriander and roasted peanuts. Serve with a generous amount of the peanut sauce.

Avocado Lemon Ramen Salad

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To Make Sauce
Combine grated ginger, soy sauce, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and wasabi paste. Mix well and set aside.

To Make Salad
Peel and slice the avocado, chop the gourmet tomato, yellow cherry tomatoes, and sliced lemon.
Cook ramen noodles as per packet instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Combine noodles, avocado, tomatoes, and lemon in a bowl, sprinkle green herbs, and pour over the sauce.

Bird Nest Noodles

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To Make
Hydrate the dried shiitake and wood ear fungus with hot water for at least 2 hours. Slice the hydrated shiitake mushroom thinly.
Cut the hydrated wood ear into bite sized pieces. Slice off the thick and pale parts as they are tough.
Cut the dirty roots off the enoki mushroom and wash. Break it up into smaller clumps.
Create the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, corn starch and water. Use cold water and a gentle stirring motion to combine the cornstarch well.
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Blanch the carrot and snow peas for 30-60 seconds. Drain and transfer to a bowl.
Put the noodles on a large plate and loosen the noodles until it is free of large clumps. Arrange the noodles into a flat disc that evenly covers the plate.
Pour 2-3cm of oil into a frypan and heat the oil to 200 degrees Celsius. Carefully slide the noodles in, preserving the disc shape. Fry the noodles until it is crunchy and holds together somewhat, about 60 seconds. To create the bird nest shape, transfer the noodles to a bowl and press the centre down with a ladle.
Reuse the frypan after pouring out the excess oil. Turn on medium heat. Fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
Mix the stir fry sauce again and pour it into the pan. Stir the sauce until it is thick and glossy.
Put the mushrooms and bean curd into the pan, followed by the blanched carrot and snow peas. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
Place the bird nest noodles on a plate and ladle the stir fry into the centre.

Biang Biang Noodles

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To Make
Mix flour, water and salt by hand or in a stand mixer with the dough hook. Knead until well combined and smooth. By hand it may take up to 10 minutes.
Divide dough into 8 equal portions, knead and shape into logs. Transfer to a plate and coat well in oil. Cover in glad wrap and let rest for 1 hour.
Heat up a wok or pot of water. While waiting, flatten the dough portions into rectangles with a rolling pin. When the water is boiling, quickly blanch the bok choy then drain and set aside.
For the dough, make an indent with a chopstick down the middle of the dough portions lengthwise. Gently hold both ends of the rectangle and pull until desired thickness is reached. Split the pulled dough in two long noodle strands.
Cook the noodles in the boiling water in two batches for 1 minute. While they are cooking, divide the soy sauce, black vinegar and bean sprouts into two bowls.
Once the noodles are cooked, drain and divide them into the bowls. Add the red pepper, garlic and green onion in a small pile on top of the noodles. Add the bok choy around the edges of the bowl.
In a saucepan, heat the rest of the vegetable oil over high heat until smoking. Carefully pour the oil into the bowls and over the noodles and ingredients so that they sizzle. Stir to coat the noodles evenly and enjoy with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Stir-Fried Eggplant, Potato and Capsicum (Di San Xian)

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To Make
Cut eggplants into chunks and soak with cold water for 10 mins. Place a plate on top while soaking as eggplants tend to float. Drain and dry eggplants with a paper towel.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/R03071-Stir-Fried-Eggplant-Potato-and-Green-Capsicum-1.jpg
Next, sprinkle cornflour over eggplants and mix until well coated.
Heat up a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of oil, and fry the potato chunks until all sides are brown. Remove from oil and place into a big plate without overlapping, set aside. https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/R03071-Stir-Fried-Eggplant-Potato-and-Green-Capsicum-2.jpg
Fry coated eggplants until all sides are slightly brown. Remove from oil and transfer to a dish with potatoes in a single layer. https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/R03071-Stir-Fried-Eggplant-Potato-and-Green-Capsicum-3.jpg
Remove excess oil leaving about 1 tbsp of oil in the frying pan, then sauté the minced garlic until fragrant. Toss in the green capsicum and stir for 20 secs.
Pour in the sauce and add in potatoes and eggplants and stir until well mixed. Transfer onto a plate and sprinkle with chopped spring onions. https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/R03071-Stir-Fried-Eggplant-Potato-and-Green-Capsicum-4.jpg

Summer Soba Noodle Salad

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To Make
Make the dressing by combining lime juice, oil, honey, salt, and ginger. Mix well and set aside.
Toast peanuts in a hot oven at 180°C until golden (around 5-10 mins, depending on your oven).
Chop the carrot into thin strips (or grate) and trim the ends off the snow peas.
Cook the edamame beans in a pot of water until soft. Remove from the heat and add snow peas to the same pot of water to lightly blanch. Drain.
Cook soba noodles according to packet instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Combine noodles, snow peas, carrot, and edamame in a bowl and pour over the dressing. Mix well and sprinkle over toasted peanuts before serving. (Note – I decorated with rice balls using leftover sushi rice as little tiger faces).

Crispy Shredded Potato Pancake

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To Make
Prepare dipping sauce, mix all dipping sauce ingredients together and let it sit for an hour.
Prepare potato mixture, mix all main ingredients together.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PPC-1-Final.jpg
Heat up medium frying pan brushed with some oil. Scoop a soup spoon full of shredded potato mixture and spread out onto frying pan. Flatten with the back of a spoon and cook on medium heat till crispy and with light browning. Turn the potato pancake over and cook the other side.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PPC-2-Final.jpg
Cut into 6 and serve warm with dipping sauce.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PPC-6-Final.jpg

Kimchi Rice Rolls (Kimchi Ssambap)

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To Make Mushroom Fried Rice
Heat a frying pan with oil on medium heat and sauté garlic for 30 secs. Toss in the carrot and mushrooms. Fry for 2-3 mins.
Add in rice and fry for 3-4 mins. Seasons with light soy sauce, and sesame seed oil.
Sprinkle spring onion and toasted seaweed and stir to mix. Dish up and set aside.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/R03011-Kimchi-Ssambap-Kimchi-Rice-Rolls1.jpg

To Make Tofu & Kimchi Fried Rice
Heat a frying pan with 1 tbsp oil on medium heat and fry the tofu until brown. Set aside.
In the same pan, heat up 1 tbsp oil and sauté onion for 2 mins. Add in the rice, stir and add in chopped kimchi. Fry for 3-4 mins. Add in the tofu and season with light soy sauce, and sesame seed oil.
Sprinkle spring onion and fry for a min. Dish up and set aside.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/R03011-Kimchi-Ssambap-Kimchi-Rice-Rolls2.jpg

To Make Beef with Sesame Seeds Fried Rice
Heat frying pan with 1tbsp oil on medium heat and and sauté onion for 2-3 mins. Toss in the capsicum and carrot and continue to fry for 2-3 mins.
Add in the ground beef and fry for 4-5 mins, add in the rice, stir to mix well.
Seasons with light soy sauce, and sesame seed oil. Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Dish up and set aside.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/R03011-Kimchi-Ssambap-Kimchi-Rice-Rolls6.jpg

To Assemble
Place 2 dinner spoons rice onto cling wrap to make small roll by compacting them with your palms. Make sure the rice rolls fit the size of your kimchi/blanced napa cabbage.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/R03011-Kimchi-Ssambap-Kimchi-Rice-Rolls3.jpg
Remove excess liquid from whole leaf kimchi and lay on a flat surface. Place rice roll at the end of the stem.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/R03011-Kimchi-Ssambap-Kimchi-Rice-Rolls4.jpg
Next, roll up the rice in the kimchi leaf and fold in the sides as you roll.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/R03011-Kimchi-Ssambap-Kimchi-Rice-Rolls5.jpg
Complete the rest of the rice cabbage rolls and serve immediately.

Curry Yaki Udon with Vegetables

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To Make
Cook Hakubaku Organic Udon Noodles by following the instructions on the package.
Mix Golden Curry Mix with 150ml hot water in a bowl to make a curry sauce, then set aside.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat, stir fry noodles, cabbage, carrot, zucchini, onion, tofu and curry sauce, mix well and cook through.
Season with soy sauce, and serve with Japanese pickled vegetables.

Korean Sweet Sauce Crispy Mushrooms (Beoseot Gangjeong)

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To Prepare Crispy Mushrooms
In a sauce pan, heat up light soy sauce, gochujang, rice vinegar, rice syrup and mirin till it bubbles. Let it simmer till it thickens on low fire for 4-5 mins. Remove from stove and set aside.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/R02980-Korean-Fried-Mushroom-2.jpg
Dry the soaked mushrooms with paper towels.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/KCM-3.jpg
Coat mushrooms with potato flour.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/KCM-4.jpg
Heat about ½” of oil in a medium pot till it r eaches 160C. Fry coated mushrooms till light brown in small batches.Scoop up and set them on a plate lined with paper towel.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/KCM-5.jpg
Reheat the oil to 160C and fry the mushrooms again till golden brown about 2 mins. Scoop up and let them cool on paper towels lined plate.
Reheat the sweet sauce and toss in the capsicum and stir for a min.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/KCM-8.jpg
Add in the fried mushrooms and stir till all are well coated with sauce.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/KCM-10.jpg
Serve with some toasted sesame seeds.

Pad See Ew

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To Cook
Marinate sliced beef with some oil and light soy sauce. Set aside.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PSE-4.jpg
Mix all the ingredients for the seasoning sauce and set aside.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PSE-7.jpg
Heat up frying pan with some oil under medium heat. Fry beef slices quickly till about 80% cook, set aside.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PSE-9.jpg
Using the same frying pan, clean with a kitchen towel and heat up some oil. Sauté minced garlic for 30 secs.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PSE-11.jpg
Crack in an egg, spread it out and let it cook for about 20 secs, stir for a few secs. Toss in the Chinese broccoli. Stir for 1 min.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PSE-13.jpg
Toss in the flat rice noodles. Stir for 1 min. Season with 2 tbsp seasoning sauce and continue to stir till noodles are coated with sauce.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PSE-15.jpg
Spread noodles out on the frying pan and let them sizzle for 1-1 1/2 mins till slightly charred. Toss in the beef slices but not the juices.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PSE-16.jpg
Add in sugar and pepper. Stir till well mixed.https://asianinspirations.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PSE-18.jpg